Resources: Sustainable Affordable Housing

Our Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative supports local affordable housing providers – including municipal, not-for-profit organizations and housing co-ops – to retrofit existing affordable housing units, or construct energy efficient new builds that emit lower greenhouse gas emissions. 

This list of curated resources provides useful information on your affordable housing retrofit or new build project. It is focused on the different project stages including: discovery; planning; study; pilot and capital projects; and operations and maintenance. Learn more about:

• the most effective and energy efficient methods to make buildings more sustainable
• various operations and maintenance recommendations for efficient buildings
• the steps required to begin the retrofit of an existing multi-unit residential building
• how to select different energy efficient technologies for your housing project
• energy efficient methods to make buildings more sustainable
• and much more

We will continue to update this page with additional resources as they become available.

Please note: all files appear in the language in which they were provided, and are organized by category: retrofit, retrofit and new build and new build.  

Understanding energy efficiency

• Retrofits and new builds: Understanding energy efficiency: A guide for affordable housing providers (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• Retrofits: Green Building Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Green Building Canada)
• Retrofits: Why undertake energy-efficiency retrofits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• Retrofits: Heritage Buildings: Introduction (NAIMA Canada) 
• Retrofits and new builds: Keeping the Heat In (Natural Resources Canada) 
• Retrofits and new builds: What is Embodied Carbon? Understanding its Impact on the Built Environment (cove.tool)
• Retrofits and new builds: Developer's Guide to Passive House Buildings (Passive House Canada)
• Retrofits and new builds: Toolkit: Navigating energy-efficient affordable housing projects (FCM’s Green Municipal Fund) 

Energy conservation measures

• Retrofits and new builds: Heat Pump Basics (Natural Resources Canada)
• Retrofits: Checklists of Energy-Saving Measures (ENERGY STAR©) 
• Retrofits: Top 5 Energy-Saving Measures for Housing Co-ops (The Agency for Co-operative Housing)
• Retrofits and new builds: A Window into Energy Efficiency (Housing Services Corporation [HSC]) 
• Retrofits and new builds: Balconies - How Do They Impact Wall Performance? (EQ Building Performance)
• Retrofits and new builds: Thermal Bridges — A Path to Energy Waste (Housing Services Corporation [HSC]) 
• Retrofits: Harvesting Heat with Heat Pumps: Retrofit Guide for Ontario’s Electrically-Heated Multi-Family Buildings (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF])
• Retrofits: Heat Pump Retrofit Guide for Strata and Co-op Buildings (Green City Solutions with the City of Vancouver and H.W Flesher Housing Co-op)
• Retrofits and new builds: Smart Thermostats: Technology Assessment and Field Test Findings in Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF]) 
• Retrofits: Guide to Energy-Efficiency Windows (U.S. Department of Energy)
• Retrofits and new builds: Ventilation Strategies for High-Performance Multi-Units Residential Buildings (ZEBx)
• Retrofits: Decarbonization Roadmap for Multifamily Affordable Housing (Building Energy Exchange)
• Retrofits and new builds: Project Cash Flow Calculator (FCM’s Green Municipal Fund) 

Getting inspired on energy efficiency

• New builds: Best Practices and Innovative Approaches to Energy Reduction in MURBs (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• Retrofits: First phase of a first-of-its-kind energy efficiency retrofit project completed at eight of WoodGreen Community Housing's buildings (WoodGreen)
• Retrofits: Research Insight: Identification of Best Practices in Northern MURBs (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• Retrofits: Case study: Raising the bar on community housing retrofits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• New builds: Case study: New build achieves financial sustainability, social and environmental benefits  (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• Retrofits: Case study: Brownfield redevelopment incorporates affordable housing (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• New builds: Case study: Consultation and innovation improves performance (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• Retrofits: Case study: Energy retrofit delivers multiple benefits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• New builds: Bois Ellen Co-operative Residence, Laval (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])

Developing a business case for an energy efficiency retrofit

• Retrofits: Developing a business case for an energy-efficiency retrofit (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• New builds: Planning high-performance affordable housing (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• New builds: Why build high-performance affordable housing? (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• Retrofits: Research Insight: Comprehensive Retrofit of an Existing Multi-Unit Residential Building (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC]) 
• Retrofits: The Case for Deep Retrofits (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF])
• Retrofits: Robert Cooke Co-op Case Study: A TowerWise Retrofit Project (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF]) 
• Retrofits: The Heights: Multi-Unit Residential Passive House (ZEBx)
• New builds: Achieving High Performance Multi-unit Residential Buildings: The Opportunities (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• New builds: Video & Playbook: Low Carbon Energy Systems (ZEBx)
• New builds: Evaluate the Economics of Energy Efficiency Projects (ENERGY STAR©)
• Retrofits: How to undertake deep energy retrofits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

Working with consultants

• Retrofits: Multifamily Housing (ENERGY STAR©)
• Retrofits and new builds: Hiring + Working with Development Consultants: A Guide for Non-Profit Housing Providers (BC Non-Profit Housing Association [BCNPHA])
• Retrofits and new builds: A Guide for the Selection of Energy Efficiency Technologies (Saskatchewan Energy Management Task Forces)
• Retrofits and new builds: Question & Answers: Energy Audits (The Agency for Co-operative Housing)
• New builds: Planning High-Performance Buildings (ZEBx)
• Retrofits: Steps for Creating and Implementing an Energy Management Plan (Housing Services Corporation [HSC]) 
• Retrofits: Pre-Energy Audit Document Checklist (Housing Services Corporation [HSC])
• Retrofits and new builds: Toolkit for air source heat pump sizing and selection (Natural Resources Canada [NRCan])
• Retrofits and new builds: Canadian Sustainable Energy Practitioner (CSEP) (CIET Canada)
• Retrofits and new builds: Funders list for sustainable affordable housing (FCM’s Green Municipal Fund)
• Retrofits: Find a Contractor (Clean BC and British Columbia)

Engaging residents in energy efficiency projects

• Retrofits: A Field Guide to Retrofits in Occupied Buildings (Tower Renewal Partnership)
• Retrofits: Sustainability at Home: A Toolkit For Your Co-op (The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada) 
• Retrofits: Energy Saving Competitions: Activity Kits (ENERGY STAR©) )
• Retrofits: Tenant Engagement Sustainability, Guide (BC Housing)
• Retrofits: Tenant Engagement Sustainability, A Supplementary Guide (BC Housing)
• Retrofits: Tenant Engagement on Sustainability, Facilitators Handbook (BC Housing)
• Retrofits : ACORN Tenant Engagement Report – Retrofits (ACORN Canada)
• Retrofits: Retrofitting with Tenants in Place (Pembina Institute)
• Retrofits: H.W. Flesher Housing Co-op — Case Study (City of Vancouver and Greenest City)

Operations and maintenance

• Retrofits: Guide to Building Condition Assessments and Reserve Fund Studies (The Agency for Co-operative Housing)
• Retrofits: Operation and Maintenance Best Practices for Energy-Efficient Buildings (ENERGY STAR©) 
• Retrofits: E-learning course: Building Operators Training (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)